Alcohol free beer is now a standard sight on supermarket shelves around the country due to the fact that major beer brands are now competing to produce alcohol free versions of their popular products. However not all alcohol free beers are brewed equal!
For the health conscious drinker it’s worth paying attention to the label particularly to see the difference in carbs, calories, sugar and the actual ABV alcohol content.
How many carbs are there in alcohol free beers?
Whether you’re following a keto diet, looking to lose weight, just health conscious about what beers you drink, low-carb beers are available and our handy infographic below will show you the carb content of each of the most popular alcohol free beers currently on the market.
Is alcohol free beer lower in carbs?
As alcohol contains no carbohydrates, non-alcoholic beers aren't always lower in carbs than beers that contain alcohol. In fact, they are often higher in carbs than their alcoholic equivalents because, unlike most alcoholic beers they usually contain sugar. Check out our infographic to see the carb levels in the most popular alcohol free beer.
How many calories in alcohol-free beer vs regular beer?
As well as being lower in calories than standard beer, alcohol-free beer has fewer calories than many alternative soft drinks. For example, most alcohol-free beers have about 10 to 35 calories per 100ml.
Are alcohol free beers less fattening?
Alcohol-free beers do tend to contain fewer calories than alcoholic beer. Drinks also labelled as ‘light’ beers usually have less alcohol and fewer calories.
So, choosing an alcohol-free beer over alcohol, alongside a balanced diet and exercise, could be useful if you’re trying to get rid of that ‘beer belly’ and maintain a health weight.
Click here for a list of Brilliant things to do instead of drinking?
Why does alcohol-free beer contain some alcohol?
Alcohol-free beer does contain a small amount of alcohol (up to 0.05% ABV). This is because some alcohol naturally forms as part of the brewing process.
The amount of alcohol in a drink is shown as a percentage of the whole drink. The labels on all alcoholic drinks will show the Alcohol by Volume (ABV). Beer that says 5% ABV on its label contains 5% pure alcohol. Check our our infographic for ABV's of popular beers.
Alcohol labelling
There are four types of categorisation often used on labels:
Alcohol-free beer = no more than 0.05%
De-alcoholised beer = no more than 0.5% ABV
Low-alcohol beer = no more than 1.2% ABV
Alcoholic beer = contains more than 1.2% ABV
Is non-alcoholic beer high in Sugar?
The amount of calories in non-alcoholic beer is comparable to regular beer, despite not containing as much alcohol. The reason for this is that non-alcoholic beer packs twice as many carbohydrates as regular beer, mostly sugar, which enhances its flavor which helps improve the taste once the alcohol has been removed.
Check out our infographic to see the variation between popular non-alcoholic beers.
